India asks Canada to withdraw dozens of diplomats from the country: Report

India has asked Canada to withdraw dozens of diplomats from the country, the Financial Times reported.

This marks an escalation in the crisis that erupted after Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said India has hands in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was a designated terrorist in India and Khalistani activist. This was followed by both countries expelling a senior diplomat in a tit-for-tat move.

New Delhi has told Ottawa that it must repatriate roughly 40 diplomats by October 10, FT reported citing people familiar with the demand. India has warned of potentially withdrawing diplomatic immunity from diplomats who stay beyond that specified date, one person said.


The Canadian foreign ministry and the Indian government declined to comment, FT said. New Delhi had earlier called for 'parity' in terms of the number and rank of diplomats that each country deploys to the other.

Canada has a lot more diplomatic presence at its high commission in New Delhi compared with India's presence in Ottawa, primarily due to the extensive consular section required for the families of the approximately 1.3 million Canadians with Indian heritage.

According to one source, Canada currently has 62 diplomats stationed in India, and New Delhi has reportedly requested a reduction of 41 diplomats from the Canadian mission, FT reported.

India had suspended visa services in Canada until further notice with effect from September 21. In a strongly-worded advisory, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi referred to "threats" targeting Indian diplomats and sections of the Indian community that oppose the "anti-India agenda", and asked Indian nationals to avoid travelling to regions and potential venues in Canada which have seen such incidents.

However, the latest move may lead to additional challenges for Trudeau, who is under pressure at home to take action while simultaneously seeking support from Western allies keen on strengthening ties with New Delhi as a counterbalance to China.

Trudeau's accusation, linking India with the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who Trudeau government insists was a peaceful activist and a religious leader, has jeopardised close connections India has been forging with several Western powers, especially the US.

The United States is worried about what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said about India's potential hands in the murder of a Khalistani activist and wants the Indian nation, with whom US has developed a cordial relation, to cooperate with Canada’s investigation into the killing.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on on Friday that Washington is "deeply concerned" about the allegations in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom India had designated as a terrorist years ago. US Ambassador to Canada David Cohen had told media that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegation against India was based on "shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners".

India has strongly rejected Trudeau's statement made in the Canadian Parliament and said "allegations of Government of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated.” Nijjar was one of India's most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head and was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen outside a gurdwara in Surrey in the western Canadian province of British Columbia on June 18.

During a discussion at the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C. on Friday, India's external Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar alleged that the Indian diplomats in Canada are unsafe and they are also publicly intimidated.

Amidst this and after reports of non-cordial talks between India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Canadian counterpart during G20 Summit, where Modi conveyed to Trudeau India's concerns about extremist elements carrying anti-India activities in Canada, the business world must be brooding about looming impact on trade relations between the countries who have bilateral trade running into billions of dollars. In fact, the political developments had also led to a pause in negotiations for a free trade agreement between India and Canada.